Agreed, Rocco. TLM's full writedown of their Quebec land holdings simply acknowledges the current economic and political realities of the Utica shale play. Even if the political headwinds change over time, there won't be much action, if any, in Quebec for years to come. TLM is simply acknowledging that there is a possibility that Utica will never be developed. A full writedown sets up the possibility of a very positive surprise for TLM investors if Quebec ever changes it's position on shale drilling.
TLM has clearly rolled as much bad news into it's Q3 Report as possible as it refocuses on more immediate, proven plays. The new CEO is one of Canada's top executives and, given the immediacy of the TLM issues Rocco mentions, he's not going to expend any resources tilting at Quebec windmills.
I don't think QEC has written off it's Quebec investment yet but Binnion arrived at the same conclusion as TLM long ago ... concentrate on where he opportunities are (Montney, Bakken and Wyoming shale). Given the recent action in the Montney (Progress, Celtic, Huron) this area could be a game changer for QEC.
